I am not speaking of how wonderful an Aunt I am, though I am fantastic. The “Great”, in this case, speaks of age. My niece has had a baby. Since some cuddling of the newborn was in order, my family and I headed out on another road trip. We were leaving after I got off work, so dinner along the interstate was going to be a necessity.

Nebraska is undeniably beef country. There is no shortage of places where one can get a steak or hamburger. Fortunately for the traveling vegan, Nebraska also has several Asian and Mexican restaurants. My step-father doesn’t care for Asian food so a Mexican restaurant was the only option. My mother and I logged on to Trip Advisor and set to searching for an eatery in the Ogallala, NE area. For this road trip, we decided on Mi Ranchito.

The restaurant is about what you’d expect regarding vegan option. There are vegetarian fajitas, a guacamole tostada, and bean burritos. The menu has a little green ‘v’ next to the bean burrito which indicates a vegetarian choice but I don’t know if that means the beans are made without lard. The burrito does come with cheese and the photo on the menu shows the side beans covered with cheese. Fortunately, the helpful staff is willing to leave the cheese off. Same with any sour cream.

The only complaint I have about my meal is how salty I found the rice. I can’t say whether or not the rice was inordinately salty or if my focusing on raw foods in my daily diet has made me more sensitive to the salt content in prepared food. I couldn’t eat it. I have no complaints about the bean burrito itself. It was filling, tasty, and void of dairy products.

I have no complaints about the staff. Everyone was friendly and willing to make changes for me. I didn’t have to specifically ask for the cheese to be left off the side of beans. I asked for “no cheese” and no cheese was what I got: both in the burrito on for the side. The chips were free, crispy, and not too salty and served to scoop up my side of beans. My water glass was always full.

If you find yourself driving down I80 in Nebraska, you’re feeling peckish and in need of a vegan meal, try Mi Ranchito. You can’t miss it. Just look for the glowing cactus.